This page lays out how Research Development Services (RDS) can help you as you explore, design, and prepare your grant applications. Our services are designed to meet the unique needs of researchers across disciplines and career stages.
Services for Researchers
- Grant Planning: Develop a long-term grant strategy with RDS help, creating a clear roadmap for funding for each stage of your career.
- Funding Searches: Learn to navigate the online funding database (Pivot) with individual training from RDS, and read the weekly OVPRI Funding Opportunities Newsletter to find announcements and opportunities for funding.
- Navigating Submissions: RDS can help you interpret funding guidelines to develop competitive submission materials based on funder requirements.
- Proposal Critique: From simple copy-edits to multiple-iteration reviews, RDS helps ensure grant applications are well-organized, clear, persuasive, and directly address funder requirements. The External Reviewer program provides matching funds for a review by an external peer in a researcher’s field to identify potential weaknesses in the project’s research strategy and/or methodology.
- Project Management: For large institutional grants (e.g., centers, graduate training), RDS can support your application by providing a high level of coordination and project management, such as gathering collaborators' materials, tracking proposal components and versions, and coordinating support letters. Please review our Complex Proposal Intake Form and reach out to RDS to discuss support as soon as possible.
- NIH Academy: This cohort-based training provides early-career researchers support and resources to improve their chances of receiving a large research grant from the National Institutes of Health. Learn more about the program on the NIH Academy webpage.
Important Proposal Development Policies and Procedures
- Animal Welfare / Human Subject Research: All proposals involving animals or human subject research must consult with Research Compliance Services for necessary approvals.
- Cost Sharing / Institutional Support: For grants that require support from the institution matching funds or general investment into services or resources, consult the OVPRI institutional commitment policy and request form. For support on external fellowships for graduate and postdoctoral researchers, consult the Division of Graduate Studies page on institutional support for external fellowships and training grants.
- Principal Investigator Status: The Principal Investigator or PI is the lead person responsible for a project. Find guidance on PI responsibilities, PI status, and how to request exceptions if you do not automatically qualify as a PI.
- Proposal Submission: All proposals for external funds to be managed by the UO must be reviewed and approved by Sponsored Projects Services. Faculty and staff are not authorized to submit proposals for the university without SPS review and approval.
- Proposal Tracking: As part of proposal review and approval, an Electronic Proposal Clearance (EPCS) record must be made and finalized at least three business days before the proposal deadline.
- Roles and Responsibilities: This graphic of the grant process (PDF) will help to clarify the varied units and responsible parties in proposal development. Text version grant process graphic (MSWord).
- Timeline: This suggested timeline for proposal development incorporates the UO's procedures for application submission.
Private Foundation Funding - When Foundation Relations Needs to be Notified
The UO’s Office of Foundation Relations manages our institutional relations with private foundations and supports faculty with proposals and outreach to these entities. Applicants developing large proposals ($25,000 or over) to private foundations and other non-governmental organizations must notify UO’s Foundation Relations before applying to ensure your proposal is submitted as required by each organization. If you are unsure whether your proposal submission requires the involvement of this office, please reach out to either Foundation Relations or Research Development Services.
Resource
The open-access book below discusses how to become more productive earlier in their career. Topics include public perceptions of scholarly work and its use in policy; understanding the big picture of funding and national priorities as well as identifying funding sources; research methods; collecting data and materials; writing grant proposals; publishing results; ethical conduct; bias and peer review; intellectual property and compliance regulations; partnerships and collaboration; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the future of research.
By: Kelvin K. Droegemeier